Two worlds, one past
by The-real-dragon-rider
Summary: What do you get when the cross a legendary purple dragon and a trigger happy lombax? Two of the universes greatest hero's; nuff said.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What is this Place?

"What better way to relax than to take Aphelion out for a flight, eh clank?" Ratchet asked his little robotic companion. It had been two years since the incident at the great clock. With the death of Alister Azimuth, Ratchet had tried to get out of the hero business. Over the years, he had faced many enemies, made just as many friends, but losing Alister made Ratchet feel as if he had lost everything that mattered. Alister was the only connection Ratchet had to his past and his family, and with him gone, Ratchet thought he would never learn anything about who he truly was inside.

"This is not to relax Ratchet." Clank said, knowing what Ratchet was really doing.

"We're meant to meet up with Quark, Miss Talwyn, Cronk, and Zepher, not attempting to flee back to the Solana Galaxy."

"Really?" asked Ratchet, attempting to sound surprised.

"I…uh…I had no idea." Ratchet laughed lightly, trying to end the argument between him and Clank.

"Aphelion" Clank spoke up.

"Yes co-pilot" came Aphelion's voice. She would always stay out of the arguments between the two, but would often make decisions herself if they seemed to aid others.

"We must turn around; we need to be present for Quark's inauguration." Ever since Ratchet and Clank had defeated Dr. Nefarious, Quark had been in the spot light like never before. Winning the hearts of billions with his charisma and charm, he soon became a candidate for galactic president. After several months of voting, Quark had won the campaign by a landslide. He insisted, or rather, demanded, that Ratchet and Clank be there for his inauguration.

"Fine" Ratchet exhaled, admitting defeat. He tried turning Aphelion around, but she didn't respond. The handle of his ship turned, the wings moved, and the thrusters changed their angle slightly, but Aphelion continued to fly straight.

"Uh, Aphelion, where are you going?" asked Ratchet as he attempted and failed again in trying to cause his ship to turn around.

"I don't understand" said Aphelion "a magnetic force seems to be pulling me."

"Um, Ratchet?" Clank said, his voice ringing with nervousness.

Ratchet followed Clank's gaze and found a swirling vortex, dark purple in color, several miles ahead of them. Ratchet couldn't see inside it, but he did see several asteroids get sucked into it at an alarming speed.

"Aphelion, we need to get out of here now!" Ratchet yelled, again trying to turn his ship around.

"I can't!" she yelled back "strap yourselves in; it's going to get real bumpy!"

Ratchet and Clank just buckled themselves in as the vortex grabbed Aphelion fully and dragged them into it. Aphelion bounced around wildly, knocking against asteroids and attempting to exit the vortex at the same time. After a few minutes, and Ratchet on the edge of losing his lunch, Aphelion was pushed out of the vortex just as quickly as she was pulled in. She couldn't get her thrusters working again quickly, and found herself entering a new planets atmosphere, gravity pulling her down towards its surface.

"Hold on!" Ratchet yelled as he saw Aphelion heading down, nose first. They passed through a bank of clouds, and were blinding for a few short moments.

"Clank, does your life flash before your eyes when you're about to die?" Ratchet asked his little buddy fearing the worst.

"I would not know Ratchet." Clank answered simply.

After the clouds, Ratchet saw the ground rapidly approaching. Aphelion, knowing Ratchet wouldn't survive the head-on crash, ejected her occupant's moments before impact. Clank quickly attached himself to Ratchet's vest, so they were back to back, and slowed Ratchets decent with his heli-pack. Ratchet could only watch in horror as his beloved ship skipped across the landscape just like a rock skips across the water.

The two friends landed, looking at the craters Aphelion had unwillingly created.

"Great, just great" Ratchet mumbled to himself.

Ratchet checked himself for supplies. He had his trusty Omni-wrench, his cunstructo pistol, cunstructo shotgun, and his warmonger. He had no food or water, and Clank was just as empty, no items were stored in his chest compartment. Ratchet keyed into his nav-unit, and found Aphelion was about a two hour hike away.

"Ratchet" Clank said "We must get moving. We do not know how much daylight we have, and we don't know any life-forms on this planet."

Ratchet nodded his head, and quickly set off towards Aphelion, Clank detaching himself and walking alongside him. Little did they know, that three creatures had seen the crash, one purple, one black, and the other much smaller than the first two, hovering over the two creatures heads, glowing with yellow light. As the smallest creature took off towards an unknown location with a buzz, the other two creatures began to stalk the two explorers, thinking who knows what thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: First Impressions

The two creatures had been following Ratchet and Clank without them knowing. Ratchet did feel as if someone was watching him, and was on high alert because he was on a new planet, but every time he scanned the barren plains around him, he saw nothing.

"Clank, how far away are we from Aphelion?" Ratchet asked Clank.

"Closer than we were when you asked five minutes ago. What is wrong Ratchet?" Clank asked.

"I don't know, I have this feeling as if something is watching us." Ratchet replied.

Clank nodded his head in agreement "Yes, it does seem as if this trek has been…"

"NO! Don't say to easy!" Ratchet interrupted. Clank gazed at Ratchet questioningly.

"People say 'to easy' and bad things happen. I swear, whenever I agree with you, we always end up on some planet where we don't know where we are, what we're going to run into, how we're going to get home." Ratchet exhaled impatiently through his nose, and then whipped his head around, thinking he heard grass rustle.

"Oh, really?" Clank questioned.

"What about the time Dr. Nefarious started attacking Veldin, did you do that because I told you so, or did you go off because you wanted to save the planet you grew up on?"

Ratchet glared at Clank. His little buddy would really get on his never sometimes; since Clank never forgot anything unless his CPU was erased clean by somebody or something else, but those incidents were few and far between.

"And what about the time we went to the Bogon Galaxy? You didn't even attempt to go back home, didn't even ask for my consent. When we first met, I was merely asking for help, but you had to go on an adventure didn't you? And again…"

"Okay, okay" Ratchet interrupted.

"Point made."

Clank smiled in satisfaction, but the beeping on Ratchet's nav-unit had caught them both by surprise. Ratchet check it, and then handed it to Clank. Clank's eyes narrowed in concentration, then widened in surprise.  
"Ratchet, have you been modifying Aphelion?" Clank asked. Ratchet shook his head.

"Well, unless she grew mechanical legs and is walking away from us, someone is stealing our ship!"

Ratchet shared a quick glance with Clank, and then started sprinting towards Aphelion's location. Ratchet hadn't taken two strides before the ground in-front of his feet had quickly turned to thick, slippery ice.

"WHOA!" He cried out in surprise as he flailed his arms, attempting to regain his balance. Clank calmly walked over to him, ready to help Ratchet. A gust of wind came out of nowhere and caused Ratchet to fall hard on his bottom, and Clank to fly several yards away. Ratchet got up, brandishing his omni-wrench in his left hand, his constructo-pistol in his right. Clank quickly got up, and had taken Ratchet's constructo-shotgun, standing at Ratchet's back.

The two stood there, waiting for whatever had attacked them to make another move. When nothing happened for a minute, the two started to relax. As Clank lowered the shotgun, something black knocked into him, slashing at Ratchet with an extension of its body that looked like a tendril. Ratchet jumped up to avoid the attack, and then was tackled by something purple in the opposite direction. Ratchet and the purple thing landed on the ground hard, Ratchet on his back and under the purple thing.

Ratchet looked up and saw purple eyes staring into him, and he got the weird feeling as if this creature was attempting to read his mind. He saw his chance to attack.

"Eat this you purpled eyed monster!" Ratchet fired his constructo-pistol right into the creature's chest, causing it to wince in pain and spin off Ratchet. Ratchet quickly stood up and threw his wrench at the creature in a comet-strike. The creature ducked, under the wrench, and then spun on a dime and caught it between its jaws, turning to face Ratchet again.

Ratchet eyes went wide, holstered his consructo-pistol and then pulled out the warmonger, making sure to lock onto the creature. Now being farther away from it, Ratchet saw that it had the basic body of a large lizard, and its body was purple with a faded yellow on its chest and stomach. Its tail ended in a gold spade, and two gold horns grew from the top of its head. It had two wings on its back, yellow skin over the bones and orange where the membranes were.

The creature stood up on its hind legs, being about two feet taller than Ratchet. It pointed behind him with one wing.

"Right, like I'm going to fall for that one." Ratchet told the monster in-front of him. His warmonger gave a beep, confirming the lock-on. Ratchet smiled as his finger brushed the trigger. "Ratchet, don't." Ratchet turn around, and saw Clank's head in the jaws of a creature similar to the one in-front of him. This one was black, and had three silver horns growing out of the sides of its head. The membranes of the wings were a dark violet, and the claws on its wings seemed quite sharp. Its tail was twice as long as the purple ones and Ratchet guessed that was what it slashed at him with. It was slimmer and more stream line than the purple one, suggesting that it was a female. It was confirmed when Ratchet saw its swollen belly; it was pregnant, almost to term.

The darker creature growled and started applying pressure in its jaws.

"Wait!" Cried Ratchet.

The darker creature stopped applying pressure but didn't stop growling and looked at Ratchet. Ratchet turned around to face the purple creature again. Looking it dead in the eye, he squatted and placed his warmonger on the ground. Holding his left hand up in surrender, he removed his constructo-pistol from his belt, and placed it on the ground and then held up his right hand. He backed up a few paces and stood there, admitting defeat. The purple creature cocked its head to one side, dropped back on all fours, and then dropped the wrench in its mouth.

"Smart move" it said. Its voice was lighter than Ratchet was expecting, sounding much like his own.

"What are you?" Ratchet asked.

"My mate has your companion in her jaws; I'll ask the questions, you'll answer them." The purple creature snapped.

"Can I at least get your names?" Ratchet pressed.

The purple creature swayed from side to side, as if thinking deeply.

"My name is Spyro, my mate is Cynder, and we're dragons."

Ratchet looked at the creature, the dragon, and his jaw slowly dropped in disbelieve.

"I've never thought dragons existed. I thought they were only the stuff of legend."

"Never heard that one before." Spyro muttered sarcastically.

"Now, what are you?" Spyro asked Ratchet.

"I'm a Lombax." Ratchet replied.

Spyro's eyes seemed to widen, and Cynder stopped growling.

"You're a what?" Spyro asked.

"I said, I'm a Lombax." Ratchet repeated.

Spyro gazed at Ratchet for a moment and then said to Cynder "Drop him, right now."

Cynder quickly did so, and looked at Clank.

"Sorry about that" she said "not my best first impression."

Clank dusted himself off, and walked over to Ratchet after picking up the shotgun.

"Come" Spyro told Ratchet "We'll get you cleaned up, feed, and then we can talk." Spyro started walking in the direction the sun was setting.

"Wait" Ratchet called. Spyro paused and looked back.

"Where are we going?" Ratchet asked.

"Home" Ratchet said with a smile. On that note, Cynder did a short sprint to walk alongside him, and Ratchet shared a glance with Clank. Clank only shrugged in response. Ratchet picked up his weapons, holstered them, and then started following the two dragons, hoping that these two creatures of legend were the key to getting home. Little did he know, they were the key to so much more.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Discussion

Ratchet followed the two dragons a few paces behind. The sun had already set, but the landscape was well lit by the moon. Spyro stopped walking, causing Cynder, Ratchet, and Clank to follow suit. Spyro looked around for a few moments, and then said

"This way." He started walking towards a forest.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Ratchet asked the purple dragon.

"If you have any better ideas on what to do on a planet that you've never been on, I'm all ears," Spyro told Ratchet in a challenging voice. Ratchet shifted his weight between his feet, and said

"No, it's just, uh…" He couldn't come up with a good explanation. He hung his head, again failing in an argument. Spyro nodded his head as Cynder gathered rocks and wood. She put the rocks in a circle, and then put the wood in the center of it. Spyro lit it with a fireball, the fire already crackling nicely.

"Do you have anything that you can store water in?" Spyro asked Ratchet. Ratchet looked at Clank who pulled out two water skins. Clank handed them to Spyro, who took them in his mouth and then ran in the opposite direction; disappearing in the trees and bushes in no time.

"So" Ratchet said as he sat across from Cynder, catching her attention. She stared at him with green eyes, awaiting whatever he said.

"What is it?" Ratchet asked. Cynder cocked her head to one side; not understanding the question.

"Excuse me?" Cynder asked.

"I mean, is it a boy, girl, twins, what?" Ratchet said, gesturing to her swollen belly.

"Oh" Cynder laughed lightly, "I'm not sure. Dragons lay eggs, but I do have an unusually high number in me right now." She ran a paw over her belly, happy to know she would soon be a mother.

"I must say, you and your husband are not what I expected." Ratchet said.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Cynder asked accusingly.

"What Ratchet meant to say, is that he expected another enemy to fight, not two strangers with the same morals and mentality of him." Clank quickly said in Ratchet's defense. Cynder nodded her head.

"I wasn't always this way, though. Spyro and I were once enemies" Cynder told the two, eyes glaring into the fire, reflecting on her past. Ratchet saw this and didn't press any further.

_Meanwhile…_

Spyro had already filled one water skin, and was beginning to fill the second. He kept thinking about Ratchet, what he must have gone through. Spyro also knew he would have to tell him about his race, and how close he truly was to them, be didn't dare do that until he spoke with his guardians.

Spryo heard a rustle of the bushes behind him. He carefully and slowly plugged the water skin and placed it next to the other one. After he did that, with the speed of a cat, he leapt backwards, bounced off a tree and pounced on a sheep. He saw two more and quickly and mercifully killed them too. He looked around for a moment, and caught the scent of a something else. Inhaling deeply, he knew he smelled a fox. Cynder loved roasted fox.

Spyro quickly flew up in the air, saw the fox, and dived bombed it. Dinner for the night had been caught. Spryo grabbed the legs of all the animals after placing the water skins on his back, and started hauling his catch back to the clearing.

Spryo walked out of the bushes, and was greeted by Cynder with a warm smile. Ratchet gave Spyro a confused look at the animals, and Clank looked at him with an unreadable expression. Cynder grabbed a thin rock and placed it on part of the fire. Spyro quickly got to work on removing the wool and the fur, and then cutting up the pieces of the animals everyone wanted.

After everyone had selected their meat, Spyro began cooking it.

"Believe me, no one, and I mean no one can cook like my mate can. Every dragon and dragoness tried to best him, but legend does say that the purple dragon can wield many abilities that others cannot. I guess cooking was one of them" Cynder praised with a small grin. Spyro couldn't help but smile also; he was used to getting praise for his heroic deeds of the past, but Cynder's compliments always were the best out of all of them.

Ratchet nodded his head. He could see the meat cooking, but he knew, somehow, that Spyro wouldn't overcook it or undercook it. He didn't know how he knew, he just did.

"How is Spyro different from the other dragons?" Clank asked. Spyro looked at Clank and then told the history of the purple dragons.

"Long ago, there was a dragon kingdom. It was ruled by a single king, who already had nine generations of heirs. All of them were proud, well behaved, and were happy to share the kingdom when their father passed. They agreed to expand the kingdom, into nine different holds. The king agreed, but knew there would have to be a single ruler to watch over the other nine. He was old just like his wife, who was weakened by their last clutch. They agreed to have one more.

"She died, and laid only a single egg. This egg was purple in color, something that had never happened before. After a few months, the egg hatched. The dragon was just as purple as the egg it had hatched from. He was unique in that he could wield the four elements; fire, electricity, ice, and earth. As he trained with the guardians, he grew arrogant. He eventually grew more powerful than the guardians, and demanded that the kingdom be given to him immediately. His father, still mourning the death of his wife, refused.

"Furious, he started attacking the city with every breath he had learned. The guardians quickly subdued him and brought him before the king. He banished his son, and told him to never come back. He left, and built an army of apes. The dragon's name was Malefor." Spyro shuddered at the name. Cynder also fidgeted uncomfortably at the name. Ratchet and Clank both leaned forward, intrigued. Spryo flipped the cuts of meat as he continued the story.

"The wars between Malefor, who was given the name of 'The Dark Master', and the dragons lasted for centuries. Eventually, the dragons were able to trap him in a dimensional prison. The apes continued to build their ranks, waiting for the moment to strike back. Then, about 15 years ago, a prophecy was fulfilled; a prophecy that spoke of another purple dragon that would bring down the Dark Master.

"A single purple dragon egg was laid and placed in a nest containing the next generation of dragons. The dark armies learned of this, and attacked the new dragon temple in order to destroy the egg, and also capture one." Spyro looked at Cynder, awaiting her consent. She nodded her head at him, though a bit reluctantly.

"Only one dragon can open the portal that served as the Dark Master's prison. Cynder was that dragon. She was taken by the apes, corrupted by darkness, and served as the Dark Master's puppet. The purple egg was sent down a stream, and hatched. The dragon was adopted by dragonflies. One day, playing hide and seek with his adoptive brother, he discovered his origins. He then set out, and found an old guardian, named Ignitus. He taught him about being a dragon, and told him that other guardians had been taken by Cynder.

"The purple dragon saved not only the guardians, but rescued Cynder from the Dark Master's hold. After another attempt would be made to raise the Dark Master, the purple dragon fell under the control of the Dark Master. Cynder saved him, and both were caught in the cave. The purple dragon preserved them with newfound power; they were found three years later. The resurrection of the Dark Master had happened.

"Luckily, the dragon finally found Malefor, and confronted him. He and Cynder defeated him, and returned home. That dragon, as you may have surmised by know, was me. I can control the four elements, and I'm next in line for the throne."

Ratchet and Clank gaped at Spyro openly, unsure of what to think. This dragon, a creature of legend, brought down a centuries old enemy of dragons, and that enemy was the first ever purple dragon.

"How did you do it, emotionally speaking?" Ratchet asked.

"I had the support of friends and family behind me, every step of the way." Spyro explained. Ratchet looked into the fire, anger boiling inside his soul. How come he had no family, because they felt bad for one lonely cragmite, and he double crossed them, killed his parents, and they fled to another dimension? How come this dragon had his family, adoptive or not, to encourage him every step of the way?

Spyro saw this in Ratchet's eyes.

"You're closer to them than you realize." Spyro told Ratchet as he handed him a piece of lamb, going back on his promise to wait until he talked with the guardians.

"I don't know about that." Ratchet said uncertainly, and then took a bite.

"Wow, this is really good." He exclaimed. He held up his water skin towards Spryo, signaling his satisfaction.

"Ratchet" Cynder said

"We know where your race is."

Ratchet looked at Cynder, eyes wide.

"You know about my family, where are they? Can I see them?" He asked frantically.

"Yes" Spryo told him.

"When?" Ratchet again, asked, more urgently than the first time.

"Tomorrow." Spyro answered simply.

"You're going to open a portal to my family tomorrow?" Ratchet asked.

"No" Spyro said

"We're going to a city, a day's walking journey, called New-Hope, the city of the Lombaxes."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Old enemies

Ratchet asked many more questions, but Spyro waved them away, and said he could ask them all when they got to the city. With that, the two dragons fell asleep, and Clank powered down. Ratchet was unable to rest, too excited that he finally accomplished his greatest wish; to meet his race. He stared into the fire, and then finally laid down on the ground next to it and fell into a light sleep, full of happy dreams.

The next morning, Ratchet woke up to the sun, and smiled at his warmth. For a moment, he thought he was back on the capital planet of the Polaris Galaxy, ready to spend a day tinkering with mechanical objects. Then he felt the rough grass around his body, and all those thoughts were banished just as quickly as they had formed.

Ratchet opened his eyes as he sat up, back stiff from sleeping out in the open. He looked and saw Spyro cooking the remaining meat.

"So…" Ratchet said.

"I didn't answer your questions last night; I'm not going to answer them today." Spyro said without even looking up from the meat. Ratchet sighed impatiently, and then went to a secluded place in the woods to relieve himself.

He wondered if any actual relatives lived in the city. He then remembered something that he had wanted to do for a while now. He ruffled through his pocket, and he felt the small box. He had been dating Apogee Talwyn for the past two years. He got the ring and planned to propose, before the grief of Alister's death overwhelmed him. Then Clank reminded him about Quark becoming president, and decided to do it then. Now they were on another planet, maybe not even in the same dimension, and he may never get the chance to propose to the woman he loved.

Ratchet walked out of the forest, sat down, and started eating his breakfast absentmindedly. Clank powered up shortly before Ratchet finished. As Ratchet was wiping his face clean, a yellow ball of light zoomed at the group. Ratchet placed his hand on his pistol, but didn't pull it out; hoping Spyro knew what this was.

"Sparx." Spyro greeted.

"Spyro…man…I'm…outa…shape." Sparx panted. Ratchet saw he was a dragonfly with humanoid arms, and his body gave off a natural yellow glow.

"Sparx, tell me what happened, or is happening." Spyro said. Sparx took a few deep breaths so he could speak without taking breaths in-between.

"New-Hope is under attack by Cragmites." Spyro furrowed his brow. Ratchet was equally stunned, but that quickly changed to anger. Even in a different dimension, he couldn't get away from the race of monsters that slaughtered his family, and now they were trying to do it again.

"Spyro, can you carry me, I weigh about 130 pounds with another 50 of gear." Ratchet asked. Spyro closed his eyes, as if mentally calculating.

"Yes, I can" Spyro said shortly, opening his eyes. Ratchet got on Spyro's back and grabbed both horns.

"You are going have to hang on tight. I'm gonna be going fast." Spyro said.

"Ha, I've won hover races where…WHOA!" Ratchet said. Spyro took off full speed, becoming little more than a purple speck in seconds. Cynder stirred and looked at Clank, who was looking in the direction that Spyro had flown off in.

"What did I miss?" She asked. Clank looked at Cynder.

"Your husband went off with Ratchet to save New-Hope from an attack." He stated simply. Cynder growled.

"No, Cynder, it's too dangerous. No Cynder, you're too tired to fight." She said in a mocking voice, angry that Spyro left her behind.

"I'll decide if I'm too weak to fight, not…" She trailed off and winced in pain. She rolled onto her stomach and called Clank over.

"Have you ever witnessed a birth?" Cynder asked. Clank shook his head.

"Well then, it's time to learn firsthand how to deliver eggs." Cynder said.

"Do dragons have waters that break before they lay their eggs?" Clank asked.

"Yes, why?" Cynder asked.

"If that's the case, then you're in false labor." Clank said. Cynder growled again, partly from the pain, the other from the frustration. If this much pain was from false labor, then the real thing was going to be horrible.

_Meanwhile…_

Ratchet was amazed at how quickly yet smoothly Spyro was able to fly. Ratchet looked over Spyro's head and saw a city. All of the buildings were made out of a highly reflective glass, causing the sun to glance off the sides of the buildings. The glare caused Spyro to squint, and Ratchet to pull out a visor. The city would've been much more majestic if the flames weren't present. People yelling, cragmites roaring, laser blasts echoing across the city, the sounds cut Ratchet down to his heart.

Spyro flew down low and landed, Ratchet dismounting him shortly after. Ratchet saw Lombaxes firing on the cragmite hoards with multiple types of weaponry, as well as dragons backing them up with whatever element they could. A few dragons were attacking the cragmites bravely with bites and swipes of their claws. They were covered in impressive sheets of armor, blocking the worst of the cragmite attacks.

A pack of Cragpoles spotted them and their three eyes narrowed as their jaws opened up to growl menacingly at the duo. Ratchet remembered these fiends all too well, their three legs, two eyes small and one eye big, set off to the side of its unnaturally big head of which three antennae grew in a line. Before Ratchet could fire his pistol, Spyro charged shortly after covering himself in fire, and knocked nearly all the cragpoles away with a comet dash. The few remaining were blasted away by Ratchet's marksmanship. Spyro thanked Ratchet with a nod of his head, and fired an icicle spear right behind Ratchet's head. The spear punched its way through a cragmite hunter's torso and kept going, knocking away a few more cragpoles behind it. The cragmite hunter fell on the ground dead, and half a dozen cragpoles burst from its rapidly decaying body. Ratchet threw his wrench in a comet strike, killing all the cragpoles.

Spyro turned and saw a dozen cragmite hunters surround them, followed by 18 cragmite warriors. Ratchet could hear the arm cannons of the hunters being loaded and the shoulder cannons of the warriors being charged. The bug-like legs and unnaturally long arms that ended in a single claw of the dark purple enemies started bracing themselves for the attack, their out-of-place teeth clicking together in excitement.

"Ratchet" Spryo said as he started hovering about six feet in the air.

"Get under me." Ratchet looked at the purple dragon oddly for a moment, but quickly did so. As Spyro hovered in the air, the surrounding flames converged on him at once. Balls of fire began raining from the sky striking anything that was in their path, luckily concentrated around Spyro and not on him, most of the damage being done to the cragmites. After the last of the cragpoles burst from the body of its dead parent, the flames that had enveloped Spyro blasted out in a large shockwave, nearly 30 feet in every direction. The Cragpoles' weak armor did nothing to protect them, and when Ratchet looked, he saw purple puddles, smoking. The remaining Cragmites fled, acknowledging that the guardian of this planet had arrived.

Spyro slowly hovered onto the ground, flames still covering his body. Ratchet knew he had been burned in a few places but didn't mind; he was just glad that the cragmites had received the worst amount of damage.

"What was that?" Ratchet asked the dragon as the nanites in his body started repairing the damage done.

"That, was a fire fury." Spyro explained.

"The angrier I am, the more of that anger I can channel into a single elemental attack, creating a fury."

Ratchet walked beside Spyro as they trekked to what seemed the heart of the city. In the center there were four skyscrapers, and the one facing north was taller than the rest. Ratchet saw an elevator coming down to greet them.

"Spyro, I've told you countless times, while your furies are excellent at defeating the cragmites, the collateral damage is just too great." Said an elderly Lombax after exiting the elevator. He was dressed in a fine tuxedo, dotted with an assortment of medals on both shoulders.

"I know, but there were too many surrounding us, Ratchet and I would've been destroyed if I hadn't."

"Who is this Ratchet?" the Lombax asked, putting on a pair of glasses. He looked at Spryo and then Ratchet. The Lombax's jaw slowly fell open in astonishment.

"Could it be? Could you be Kaden's son?" The Lombax asked.

"I am Kaden's son." Ratchet said, pulling out the stopwatch that Alister had given him. He opened it, showing Alister and Kaden together.

The elder Lombax looked at Ratchet for a few moments.

"Come, we have much to discuss, and your remaining family will be happy to see you safe and sound." Ratchet followed along, too stunned to speak. But an old enemy, one from Ratchet's past, saw this from his cloaked ship that hovered above the city, and his entire body shook with rage, his oversized crown falling over his eyes during his tantrum.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: New Revelations, Old arrivals

Ratchet and Spyro followed the elder Lombax through the towering skyscraper, which Ratchet later learned that the elder Lombax was the king of, and the building was the king's palace. It looked much like what Ratchet thought it would, wonderful architecture, lots of security, and a view in all directions. The trio walked through a pair of double doors, and the king's office was revealed. In the center of it was a desk larger than Ratchet's ship, and both sides of the office were glass windows.

"So, tell me your story Racket" the Lombax king said.

"It's Ratchet" Ratchet corrected him politely. He went through his adventures from the beginning, thinking all the way back to planet Veldin where he met Clank, stopped Chairman Drake, was transported to the Bogon Galaxy, defeated the protopet, returned to the Solana Galaxy, defeated Dr. Nefarious, was forced to fight in Dreadzone, found the technomites and stopped their plan to take over the galaxy with Ratchet clones, how he was framed by Clunk and Clank saved him, then how Ratchet ran into Tachyon, defeated him, Clank was kidnapped, his search for a fulcrum star to communicate with Clank, running into Alister Azimuth, defeating Dr. Nefarious a second time, and finished with how he ended in a world with dragons.

The king's expression changed during Ratchet's telling of his story, into a wide-eyed expression when Ratchet defeated Tachyon, and into a regretful scowl when Ratchet talked about Alister.

"Tell me more about Tachyon" The king told Ratchet. Ratchet described his last few days in the Solana Galaxy on Metropolis, the attack of the drophyds, then meeting Tachyon face to face. Ratchet stopped after the hyperspace window opened to the Polaris Galaxy at the sound of Spyro laughing.

"You said his name was Percival?" Spyro chuckled.

"I thought it was funny at first also." Ratchet said with a smile. The king held up his hand for silence as he answered a call on his phone, which started to ring shortly after Spyro finished talking. He nodded his head.

"There's an atmospheric disturbance over the city happening right now." The king said, placing the phone back down on its counsel. Ratchet and Spyro looked out the window and saw the disturbance.

"That's the same portal that I went through" Ratchet whispered to himself.

_Meanwhile…_

"We lost thrusters and stabilizers!" Cronk's voice yelled through the small ship.

"Well then you should have changed the shockers and jumpers before we left!" Zepher yelled back.

"Replaced the who and the what now?" Cronk asked.

"Guys, give me two seconds to think!" Apogee Talwyn yelled at the two old war bots, still trying to steer the ship away from the vortex.

"Go to the left, no your other left, get him, get him" Qwark yelled as he played his little hand held game device, oblivious to everything that was going on. He was dressed in a suit and had the badge signaling his new presidential position.

The small ship was being pulled into the vortex quickly, and then got sucked in faster than a dog eats a treat.

_Two minutes later…_

The ship started to glide over the city and headed for the king's palace. Moments before it crashed, Aphelion grasped the ship with her kinetic tether, and pulled the ship up and over the building. She then circled and placed it down in the center of the city. The ships four occupants exited their spacecraft, slightly dazed. Ratchet was already on his way down the elevator while Spyro opened the window and flew down to the spot.

As Ratchet exited the elevator, he caught one of the many Lombax's looking at him rather than the ship. It was a woman, near his age, her fur was a bright blond color and her eyes were bright blue. She smiled, showing all her teeth, and moved her finger in a suggestive "come here" motion. Ratchet looked back to the ship, where Spyro had started asking questions of the four visitors. Ratchet quickly arrived at the scene, ignoring the female Lombax, angering her greatly.

"For the final time" Spyro said through gritted teeth, claws digging into the ground beneath him in anger "Who are you?"

"That is Apogee Talwyn" Ratchet spoke up arriving on the scene. "She's my girlfriend."

"Ratchet!" Talwyn yelled happily as she rushed into his arms. He lifted her up by her waist and spun her around, placing her back down with a smile.

"Where's Clank?" She asked, worried.

"Crap!" Spyro said "I left him with Cynder and Sparx!"

"Spyro wait!" Ratchet called, and pressed a button on his belt, to which Aphelion came down, feet away from them. Ratchet wondered how she had been repaired, but didn't ask a question that could wait until a more appropriate time.

"I'll get Cynder, you stay here and make sure he" Ratchet said pointing at Qwark, still playing his hand held game "doesn't do anything stupid."

"And what about those two?" Spyro asked, pointing at Cronk and Zepher with a wing.

"Just tell them to stay, otherwise they will be in more trouble than Qwark will" Talwyn spoke up, hoping into the co-pilot seat of Aphelion. Her hatched closed, and she was off back to the place that Ratchet and Spyro had camped for the night.

Spyro turned and looked at the three new arrivals, the two war bots looking around, Qwark still oblivious to anything happening around him.

"So, what are you, some kind of winged lizard?" Cronk asked Spyro. Before he could answer, Zepher quickly spoke up.

"Hah, he's just a small woodland creature spawned by fish people."

Spyro tried to correct him, but Cronk interrupted

"He's clearly a lizard with wings"

"HEY!" Spyro yelled, causing the two war bots to jump in surprise, Qwark look up from his game, which he turned off and put in his pocket, strutting forward.

"Galactic President Qwark, what seems to be the problem citizens?" Qwark said in his arrogant voice, curling his hands into fists and placing them on both sides of his waist, puffing out his chest in an attempt to increase his already massive size. Spyro glared at Qwark, knowing he wasn't going to like him already.

"I'm a dragon." Spyro said plainly "and I'm smart enough to know when I should leave a particular area, especially when the people are making assumptions about me. However, since you two tin cans and a big hulk of flesh have absolutely no idea where you're going, I'm going to have to lead you to your new areas of residence. Follow me please."

Spyro turned around and had the three new arrivals follow him, Qwark pulling out his game and playing it again. A few minutes later, they arrived at three large houses, made out of beautiful marble, each big enough to hold three full grown dragons.

"This will have to do for now, until Ratchet gives us the rundown of you guys." Spyro said.

"No need to worry about us rookie" Zepher said cheerfully "It will do us for a spell." Spyro shook his head and then walked away. He looked up and saw a Lombax woman, head low, sobbing, and decided to see what was wrong.

"Kayla?" Spyro asked. The Lombax woman looked at Spyro, and wiped the tears from her blue eyes as best she could.

"Hey Spyro" She greeted with a weak smile.

"What's wrong?" He inquired, sitting down on his haunches.

"Oh nothing, just a little heart pain."

"Literal or figurative?" Spyro asked.

"A bit of both." Kayla said, and then walked away, her face turning from sadness to an almost evil grin. "So easy to play on people's emotions." She said to herself. "If I can fool a dragon, wonder how hard it will be to drive a wedge between Ratchet and his girlfriend." She spoke the last word as if it caused her pain.

_Meanwhile…_

Ratchet was flying Aphelion towards Clanks nav-unit.

"Apogee" Ratchet said, catching her attention "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now."

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"Well" Ratchet said slowly, heart pounding "Don't you think we should take our relationship up a notch?"

"Of course Ratchet" She said. Ratchet started to reach into his pocket as he put Aphelion on auto-pilot.

"After all" she said "living together will make sure whether we can live under the same roof when we're married."

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking." Ratchet said, placing the box back into his pocket, mentally kicking himself for bringing it up in such a horrible manner.

Moments later, Aphelion hovering inches above the ground, gave Ratchet a view of Cynder and Clank walking, Sparx hovering over them. Cynder again doubled over in pain, and a small amount of liquid burst from her body.

"What's happening?" Ratchet asked as he hopped out of the ship, Apogee not far behind him.

"She's going into labor, real labor this time." Clank said and Cynder started to roar in pain.

"Get her in, now!" Sparx yelled. Ratchet and Apogee quickly put her in Aphelion, and Ratchet told Aphelion what to say to Spyro when she found him.

She took off quickly, using her advanced thrusters to quicken her arrival.

"Talywn" Ratchet said, hand clenched around the small box.

"Yes?" She questioned, hearing the seriousness of Ratchet's voice.

"I wanted to do this for a while now; but I couldn't find the right time. I'm not sure if this is it, but it has to be." He got down on one knee and pulled out the box opening it up. In it was a silver ring with a diamond in the center. "Will you make me the happiest man in the galaxy, and marry me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Training as a Lombax Should

Talwyn stood there, hands over her mouth, stunned to the point of silence. The man she loved, and who loved her, had just proposed. Tears welled up in her eyes, tears of happiness. Ratchet could see that she was stunned.

"Yes, of course it's yes" She said finally. Ratchet sighed with relieve, stood up, and slipped the ring on her left ring finger.

"We should tell the others." Talwyn suggested, still overjoyed, like a school girl who just got kissed by the hottest boy in the class for the first time.

"It's a bit of a walk." Clank said. The two forgot he was there, and Ratchet grabbed his by his arm and strapped him to his back.

"A walk is the perfect thing we need right now." Ratchet said. He and Talwyn started back to the city, both happy that their union had been made permanent.

_Meanwhile…_

Spyro was pacing back and forth. His mind was filled with thoughts too jumbled to sort through. New arrivals, another attack, Cynder almost ready to give birth, a friendship with a creature he doesn't even know about.

"Some future king I'll be" Spyro grunted to himself. He needed Cynder; she always had the cooler head and knew the right things to say. Spyro smiled when he thought about his mate. He started walking back to the heart of the city. He saw Aphelion flying unusually fast towards the city.

Aphelion slowed and landed a few feet in front of Spyro, and her hatch opened up. Spyro saw Cynder, growling and rolling in pain.

"What happened?" Spyro roared, trying to get Cynder out of Aphelion. Spyro then heard Ratchet's recording being played.

"Cynder has gone into labor." It said simply. Spyro thought for a moment.

"Aphelion, follow me to the infirmary." Spyro took off at full speed, Aphelion using her afterburners to keep up. Spyro roared as soon as the infirmary was in sight, his roar echoing across the city. Luckily, some of the nurses were on their break and heard the roar. They saw Spyro and Aphelion, guessing something was up. They quickly rushed into the infirmary, then came out less than a minute later, pushing a bed that already had an I.V. hooked up to it. Spyro landed moments before Aphelion did. Aphelion quickly opened her hatch, revealing Cynder, writhing in pain. Three of the nurses carefully grabbed hold of Cynder.

"Cynder" Spyro said, catching her attention. She looked up at him with fearful eyes. "They're going to lift you into a bed now." Cynder nodded her head, then shut her eyes and clenched her jaw in pain.

"On three" the first nurse said, and the other two nodded. "One, two, three." The three nurses lifted Cynder out of the seat and onto the bed. Cynder almost cried with relief when her body was laid flat and not compacted into a cockpit. They quickly rushed her to the delivery room that was built specifically for dragons. As they ran in, several different rooms could be seen, each with a different symbol on the door. The symbol told the nurses and doctors what the element was for the dragons in that particular room.

"You're doing fine Cynder." Spyro said, and then he was escorted out of the room, but still watched through the window.

"Just breathe" a nurse told Cynder, putting on a special pair of gloves on her hands. Dragon eggs could have rough spines on the shell, and she didn't want to drop one accidentally. The gloves were made of a tough fabric that was hard to penetrate and got an excellent grip on objects. "Now, push." The nurse told Cynder. Cynder clenched her teeth and pushed. The first egg came out, and was a flame pattern, colored beautifully with reds, oranges and yellows. "Fire" said the nurse simply, handing it to another who took it to the fire room. Cynder pushed again, this one coming out black and blue. "Shadow" the nurse said, and another nurse took the egg. Cynder pushed again, and a pure white egg came. "Wind" the nurse called. After that one, an emerald green one, "Earth" the nurse said. Cynder was in much less pain, but could still feel the remaining eggs. A lighter, almost toxic green was pushed out "Poison" said the nurse. Cynder pushed again, and a deep scarlet egg came out. "Fear" said the nurse, hoping that was the last one. Cynder pushed again, and a yellow egg with a lightning bolt came. "Electricity" said the nurse. Cynder inhaled a few times, and then pushed for the final time. A light blue egg came. "Ice" the nurse said, and then sighed with relief when she realized that Cynder no longer had any more eggs.

Spyro couldn't wait anymore and pushed his way through the room and to Cynder's side.

"You did great" Spyro told her. She looked up at him, smiled weakly, nodded her head, and then closed her eyes and fell asleep. Spyro followed the nurses as they took her to another room. After they set up the room and left, Spyro curled up at the foot of the bed and fell into a light sleep.

_2 hours later…_

Ratchet had finally arrived back at the city smiling. As he and his fiancée walked in, a Lombax dressed in Army fatigues walked forward.

"Halt" he said in a gruff, authoritative voice. Ratchet stopped, frowning with uncertainty. "It has come to my attention that you have not been trained the way the rest of us have. It is my job to change that. Follow me to the training area." He started walking away, and Ratchet looked at Talwyn, who only shrugged in response. Ratchet inhaled nervously, and then began to follow the Lombax.

About five minutes later, Ratchet saw a massive dome-shaped building. Before he could walk in, the Army Lombax stopped him. "Remove all weaponry except your wrench." He told him. Ratchet carefully removed all his weaponry and placed in a box. He was given a key, but he handed it to Talwyn. She slipped the key into her pocket. She pulled him in for a hug, kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Good luck." She then broke the embrace and set off to find her friends and a president.

Ratchet followed the Army Lombax deeper into the building, and was lead into an arena. Grass floor, 12 foot tall bars around in the form of a circle. A set of bars had been raised to let Ratchet in. He walked through warily, and the bars shut behind him with a crash. Across from him, another set of bars were raised, and another Lombax came through. Ratchet gulped nervously.

The Lomax's fur was white with dashes of scarlet. He wore a pair of black pants that looked like jeans. He didn't wear a shirt, revealing his highly developed muscles. He did wear a leather vest that held his Omni wrench across his back. The leather stretched and let out a groan as he inhaled. The Lombax was easily twice Ratchet's height, and Ratchet thought he wouldn't last ten seconds.

As the massive Lombax reached around to pull out his Omni wrench, Ratchet pulled his out and held it in a ready position. Ratchet may not have had the strength of his opponent, but he did have sharp eyes. Because of the size of the Lombax, the Omni wrench was extra-large. Because of this, it was held by versa fuses instead of screws. Ratchet smiled, and then used the illegal kinetic tether that he had built into his Omni wrench and latched on to the first versa fuse. He pulled it free and then rolled between the massive Lombax's legs. He jumped onto his back and held on to the vest with one hand. Ratchet raised his wrench high over his head and bonked it on his opponent's head. The Lombax waved side to side dangerously, and then fell down unconscious.

Ratchet calmly stepped off and stood there in the center of the arena. The Army Lombax came up and looked into Ratchet's eyes.

"Yep" he said. "You are Kaden's son; he was one of the best Lombaxs that could use his wrench either as weapon to destroy or a tool to build. I am proud to say that he was my brother, and that you, Ratchet, are my nephew." For what seemed like the hundredth time that week, Ratchet's world seemed to cave in and reveal something better.


End file.
